Speech #1030109640

Mr. President. The Federal Government has mandated to States and local communities that they must provide these health services to all persons. including illegal aliens. The Federal Government has provided a small portion of meeting the cost of that mandate that we have placed upon them. We are now about to withdraw that minuscule contribution that we made in the past. That contribution. according to the Senator from California. represents about $1 out of $4 that their State is spending to meet these needs for undocumented aliens. most of which are mandated by laws that we pass. There also is another reason why States and local communities have not been able to carry their full criminal Justice responsibilities. that is. because the Federal Government has not been carrying its criminal justice responsibilities and. therefore. unloading onto States and local communities what should legitimately have been a Federal obligation. Again. one of those areas is in the field of Illegal aliens. Again. the Senator from California indicated. I believe. that 11 percent of the inmates in the State of California are illegal aliens who have committed a crime while they were in the State of California and are now in the custody of the State of California. In my State. the figure would be more in the range of 5 or 6 percent of the inmates in our State prisons are illegal aliens. those people who are in this country because the Federal Government failed to carry out its responsibility. which is a singular responsibilIty under the U.S. Constitution to protect our borders against Illegal refugees and illegal aliens. Because the Federal Government failed. now the States have some of these people who commit crimes in their State correctional systems. therefore diluting the resources that would otherwise be available to fight crime as it relates to the rest of the population. The Federal Government has always failed to meet its responsibility by setting thresholds of prosecution and unequal thresholds of prosecution.